The men's track and field team traveled to Northeastern University on Saturday for the 2002 Spring Husky Open, its first meet of the outdoor season. The meet was not scored, instead providing coaches with an opportunity to gauge their team's status early in the season.
Among the competition were several Div. I squads, including Northeastern, Boston University, and Boston College.
Many teams' runners used the event to get back into competitive shape following a two-week hiatus from the indoor season. Coach Connie Putnam said the weather was a big help.
"We were very lucky it was so nice outside," Putnam said. "It was a good overall performance. Everybody just seemed to shake off the rust from the break."
A few key members of the team did not participate in the meet. Junior sprinter Bryan Pitko, who recently competed in the indoor nationals in the 55-meter hurdles, did not run due to tight hamstrings. Fellow sprinter and senior captain Andy Benedict did not compete due to an ankle injury suffered during the indoor season.
The injuries hardly hampered Tufts' performance, however. Among the notable results was junior quadcaptain Greg Devine's seventh place finish in the 200 meter dash. Devine, who also placed sixth in the 400 with a 50.54, said his 22.46-second 200 exceeded his expectations.
Other impressive performances included a freshman jumper and hurdler Nate Thompson's fifth place finish in the 110 meter hurdles (16.01). Freshman Dave Starr established a personal record in the pole vault with a height of 3.51 meters.
Putman made some lineup changes, including moving freshman Ray Carre from sprints to distance events, in which he competed in the 1500 meter run. Freshman Spencer Gerrol placed 35th throwing javelin for the first time.
"Most of the team's depth and talent is concentrated in the middle- and long-distance events." Putnam explains. "You have to expect that at a school like this. Bright minds and strong disciplined athletes can also make great distance runners."
This year's squad welcomes 15 new freshmen who hope to fill some of the spaces left by graduated seniors. Some of the younger distance runners - like Nathan Brigham, a freshman who made a name for himself in the cross country season - are expected to provide the team with solid performances. On Saturday, Brigham placed seventh in the 5,000 (15:28.06).
Thompson is also expected to add much needed talent to the jumping events, which Putnam considers the team's weakest spots. Thompson said he was satisfied with this weekend's performance.
"Overall, it was pretty good for a pre-meet," Thompson said. "The coaches seemed very happy. So far, I think we are having a good carry over from the indoor season. We just have to continue to work hard and stay in shape."
Returning talent and leadership will come from quad-captains seniors Benedict, Ben Smith and JR Cruz, along with Devine. Cruz and Smith will be key distance runners; Cruz finished second in the 5000 run with a time of 15:02.97, while Smith placed ninth in the 1,500 in 4:05.03.
This week the team will prepare for its first scored meet of the year, as it heads up to Lewiston, ME to compete against Bates on Saturday.
